Wire associations
IWMA Chairman's Report 2013/2014
"2013 was another very busy year for the association, with us supporting our members at the leading wire and cable exhibitions on several continents.
The first exhibition of the year was Interwire organised by the Wire Association International and held at the Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, USA. This was followed by three exhibitions organised by our industry partner, Messe Düsseldorf.
The IWMA and a number of member companies were amongst the exhibitors at wire Russia which was held over four days in June at the Expocentre in Moscow.
In September, the successful 10th edition of wire Southeast Asia was held at the Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre (BITEC), Thailand, and finally it was the turn of São Paulo, Brazil from 1st to 3rd October, with the staging of wire South America 2013 for the first time at the Exposições Imigrantes Exhibition Centre.
The biennial CabWire World Conference was staged in Milan, Italy, at the beginning of November and was a great success, with almost 200 attendees. I must make a point in thanking the IWMA executive team of Andy Lewis and Debi Coleman for their meticulous organisational skills in bringing this event to successful conclusion, assisted by our partner associations WAI, ACIMAF, IWCEA and CET.
We, as an association, take many positives from participating in these events and we can see a continued growth in activities for the years to come. As the economic climate improves and the prospects for growth in all the emerging markets makes our members’ presence at these events essential, we as an executive board will endeavour to facilitate and support our membership worldwide.
Our executive manager, Andy Lewis, will have completed the full two-year cycle of exhibitions after wire Düsseldorf next April. He has a good understanding of what the IWMA is about and he is leading from the front by rebranding the association’s corporate image and building exhibitor packages that are attractive to our members.
It is all systems go now for the build-up to wire Düsseldorf 2014. For those that will be attending, please feel free to contact Andy or Debi as they will be on hand to offer advice or assistance leading up to the show.
Later in 2014 the association looks forward again to wire China in Shanghai in September and wire and Cable India in Mumbai in India. Exhibitor packages for members for these two events will be announced soon.
Finally, thank you to all members of the IWMA executive board for their hard work and continued dedication and support to the association."
Steven Rika, Chairman
12th February 2014
Technical Sub Committee (TSC) Chairman's Report
2013 - 2014
"Focus for the TSC this year has been on the association’s biennial CabWire World Conference held on 4th November in Milan, Italy.
An event of this size and scope takes a lot of organising, from facilities to the paper presentations as well as promotion of the event, and is very much a cooperative effort. As for previous conferences, we had excellent partners in the major European associations of IWCEA, ACIMAF and CET as well as the WAI in the USA.
The conference benefitted from excellent facilities provided by Promos, the Milan Chamber of Commerce, and attracted a record number of delegates whose feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
We do critically review these events and it was very pleasing to see the number of delegates over the last three conferences rising each year, with attendees from 21 different countries registering for the latest conference. This shows that what we are doing is relevant to today’s wire industry and important enough for delegates to attend.
I would like to thank the conference speakers that presented a range of excellent technical papers, all of which are the product of a great deal of preparation and research. This sharing of knowledge, experience and technology is invaluable to our industry.
The conference was also enhanced by table-top exhibitors and a number of generous sponsors which enable us to keep these events affordable for delegates.
Many of our conference attendees enjoyed the opportunity to visit the world class manufacturing plant of ORI Martin to whom we extend our thanks for their kind hospitality and excellent plant tour.
Much of this report is in the form of thanks and I must also thank my fellow TSC members Amanda Shehab, Geoff Church, Terry Robinson, Stephen Wood and John Stanaway for all their help. The event would never have got going without our office staff, Andy Lewis and Debi Coleman, who made sure that everything was perfect down to the last detail.
We are already thinking ahead to 2015 and are pleased to announce that the next CabWire World Conference will be held in Düsseldorf, Germany – a city which so many of us know as the home of the Messe Düsseldorf “wire” exhibition. With the 2014 show to be held in April, we hope to see you on the IWMA stand for a full update on arrangements for the 2015 conference."
Peter Large, TSC Chairman
12th February 2014
